Zimbl

Zimbl: hourly electric car and van hire in Oxfordshire

Zimbl operates an all-electric micro-rental service in Oxfordshire, presenting itself as the first micro-rental company in the UK to run a fully electric fleet. The model is built around short, flexible bookings: vehicles are hired by the hour or by the day, with a minimum booking of one hour and costs charged in 15-minute increments. The company is part of the Zimbl Group, which it describes as covering Energy, Transport & Community, and trades as RDD-AC Ltd.

Bookings run through the Zimbl mobile app, which also acts as the vehicle key. Users download the app, register with a driving licence and a selfie, and complete a licence verification process that the company states can take up to 72 hours. Once verified, a car or van can be booked at any time, specifying start and finish addresses.

How the rental model works

Zimbl states that it charges only for two things: hire time and battery consumption. There are no membership fees and no deposit; instead, a payment card is registered during licence verification, a single pending charge is placed on the card for the booked hours, and a single transaction is settled at the end of the booking. The app provides instructions for unlocking the vehicle with a smartphone.

Charging is billed separately at 30p per kWh, with the first 5 kWh included free with each booking. A vehicle returned fully charged incurs no extra charge. The company illustrates the cost with an example: a 100-mile booking in a vehicle averaging 3 miles per kWh would cost around £8.50 in battery charging.

Pricing and fleet

The published rates divide the fleet into standard and premium vehicles. Standard vehicles are listed at £8 per hour or £80 per day, and premium vehicles at £10 per hour or £100 per day. The price calculator on the site lists the following vehicles and hourly rates:

• MG5 Estate — £8/hour
• Nissan Leaf — £8/hour
• Maxus eDeliver 3 — £8/hour
• Maxus eDeliver 9 — £25/hour
• MG4 Trophy — £10/hour
• Ford E-Transit — £15/hour

The range therefore covers both passenger cars and commercial vans, including larger van options for transport needs beyond a standard car.

Delivery and collection points

Two collection formulas are offered. Through Z-Delivered, a Zimbl vehicle can be brought to the customer's door and collected from a different specified location, such as a workplace or home; delivery is described as free for users in Banbury. Through the Z-Hubs network, customers book and collect the car themselves from a Zimbl Hub. The hubs listed are:

• Cotefield Farm, Bodicote, Banbury
• Calthorpe Street Car Park, Banbury
• Windsor Street Car Park, Banbury
• Redbridge Park & Ride, Oxford

The company notes that cars at Zimbl Hubs are CoMoUK accredited, and it describes itself as a proud member of CoMoUK.

Services beyond short-term hire

Alongside standard car and van rental, the site's navigation and service pages point to additional lines of activity: EV charging and EV charger rental, long-term car rental, a Daily Commuters Club aimed at regular commuters, and a corporate offering. There are also references to council mobility partnerships, an OCC EV pilot programme and a Garage Partners Club. The material does not detail the terms or scope of these programmes.

Company background and reputation

The founders named on the site are Richard Devitt, Andrew Christoforou, Elton Jones and Jan Simmonds, with a marketing team comprising Patrycja Christoforou and Evan Linde. The company presents its purpose as making electric mobility accessible and reducing emissions through an emission-free fleet. The site displays a rating of five stars on Google, attributed to the information available at the time of writing this profile.